JetBlue Card review: Decent rewards for JetBlue devotees

• In-flight discounts

  When you fly with JetBlue and use your card, you can save 50 percent on inflight cocktails and food purchases. This perk is the one standout offering because the typical in-flight discount is 25 percent. Although this is one of the card’s best benefits, you’ll need to be a specific kind of patron to take advantage of it. Infrequent flyers may not be as interested in in-flight purchases as those who fly more often. However, if you’re traveling with your family this could be a nice benefit to curb the cost of snacks and drinks in-flight.

• Rewards pooling

  Of the JetBlue credit card perks, the ability to pool rewards with family members is pretty great. That means you can accumulate points faster and help support your card-holding family members.

• Fraud liability protection

  With the JetBlue Card, you’ll have $0 fraud liability. This means you won’t be liable for any fraudulent transactions, which adds an extra layer of comfort to purchasing.

JetBlue Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 3.6 stars out of 5

3.6

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

10,000 points

Earn 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days

Rewards rate

1X - 3X

3X points on eligible JetBlue purchases. 2X points at eligible restaurants and grocery stores. 1X points on all other purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5

4.1

See Rates & Fees

Apply now

on Capital One's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Earn 20,000 miles

Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel

Rewards rate

1.25 Miles - 5 Miles

5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 3.4 stars out of 5

3.4

See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply

Apply now

on American Express's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Earn 10,000 miles

Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.

Rewards rate

1X - 2X

Earn 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 2X Miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

• JetBlue Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card

  The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is a similarly structured travel rewards credit card. You’ll earn 1.25X the miles per dollar on all purchases and you only need to spend $500 to unlock the welcome offer of 20,000 bonus miles within the first three months. According to our latest mile valuations, Capital One miles are valued at roughly 2 cents per point on average, so they’re likely more valuable than TrueBlue points. Plus, Capital One miles are not tied to a single airline, so you can redeem them on any flight you want in the issuer’s portal.

  A general travel rewards card like the VentureOne may be a better choice for travelers who aren’t loyal to a certain airline and who spend across a range of categories to take advantage of the card’s flat-rate rewards.

• JetBlue Card vs. The Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card

  The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card offers similar benefits and you can redeem rewards with Delta or transfer them to one of its 15 travel partners. When it comes to airline loyalty cards, Delta’s portfolio has something for everyone and should certainly be on your radar. Currently, Delta SkyMiles are valued at 1.3 cents per point, according to our valuations. This valuation is slightly lower than TrueBlue points, and you could still earn more rewards with the JetBlue card thanks to its more lucrative rewards rate.

• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

  Supplementing your spending with a flat-rate rewards card like the Wells Fargo Active Cash can give you a lot of room in your card strategy to both maximize rewards and the cash rewards you earn back for spending. Earning 2% back for spending in categories other than those you use your JetBlue card for will be a great way to cushion your travel spending when the time comes.

• JetBlue customers

  JetBlue customers are really the only type of person the JetBlue Card is right for. If you don’t use JetBlue now or don’t ever plan to, then you should consider a different airline credit card or a different travel credit card.

• Rewards value

  The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

  To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

  The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

  Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

  • Groceries: $5,700

  • Dining out: $3,600

  • Entertainment: $2,400

  • Gas: $3,100

  • Apparel and services: $1,900

  Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

  This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

  With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

• Rates and fees

  We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

  To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

  We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

  We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

  With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

• Flexibility

  We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

  Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

• Perks

  We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

  We break down these tiers as follows:

  • Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 

  • Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 

  • Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 

  • Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 

  • Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

What cardholders think

JetBlue Card

4.0

40 ratings

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers.

83% of customers recommend this card

Score breakdown

5 stars

20%

4 stars

63%

3 stars

15%

2 stars

3%

1 star

0%

Score by category

Overall 4.0 / 5

Extra perks 4.0 / 5

Privacy and security 4.4 / 5

Customer service 4.1 / 5

Online portal or mobile app 4.3 / 5

Ease of rewards redemption 4.3 / 5

Rewards value 4.1 / 5

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.